DoD delays civilian furloughs by two weeks

Mar. 21, 2013 - 03:22PM
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Defense officials have delayed their furlough process for about two weeks as they analyze the impact of pending legislation on their funds, officials said.

They don’t expect to release furlough notices until about April 5, said DoD spokeswoman Navy Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde.

The furloughs, which at this point remain up to 22 days between now and the end of September, are a result of the sequestration that kicked in March 1, requiring DoD to cut about $46 billion from its funding over the remainder of the fiscal year.

The notices start the notification process that furloughs begin in 30 days.

About 800,000 civilians work for DoD; military members are not affected. But among those civilians are military spouses and retirees. An estimated 40,000 Army spouses are federal employees, for example.

The legislation could have some impact on the overall number of furlough days, but officials haven’t yet made a decision, Hull-Ryde said.

“We believe the delay is a responsible step to take in order to assure our civilian employees that we do not take lightly the prospect of furloughs and the resulting decrease in employee pay,” Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement issued March 21.